Understanding the Godhead from Torah to Christ
One of the central confessions of ancient Israel was simple and uncompromising:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4
This declaration known as the Shema-formed the backbone of Hebrew monotheism.
God is one.
Not many.
Not divided.
Not competing.
One.
So when Jesus appeared claiming divine authority, forgiving sins, receiving worship, and calling God His Father in a unique sense, many struggled not because they were ignorant but because they were fiercely committed to the oneness of God.
The issue was never whether God is one.
The issue was how God is one.
The Tetragrammaton and Self-Existence
In the Torah, God reveals Himself to Moses as:
“I AM WHO I AM.”
Exodus 3:14
The divine name (YHWH the Tetragrammaton) reveals self-existence.
God is uncreated.
God is eternal.
God depends on nothing.
But while the Old Testament clearly establishes God’s unity and self-existence, it does not fully unfold the internal distinctions within the Godhead.
The revelation is progressive.
The Torah guards monotheism.
The New Testament reveals relational plurality within that unity.
Hints in the Old Testament
Even in Genesis, we see complexity within unity:
“Let Us make man in Our image…”
Genesis 1:26
Plural language. Yet singular God.
In Isaiah, we read:
“The Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
Isaiah 48:16
The Lord.
The Sent One.
The Spirit.
Distinct yet divine.
The Old Testament never denies distinction.
It simply does not fully explain it.
The Incarnation: The Word Enters Time
The New Testament does not abandon monotheism.
It deepens it.
In one of the most profound theological statements ever written, we read:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him…”
John 1:1–3
This is staggering.
The Word:
- Was with God (distinction)
- Was God (unity)
- Created all things (divinity)
Then comes the explosion of revelation:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”
John 1:14
The eternal Word entered time.
Not created.
Not adopted.
Not promoted.
Incarnated.
The Father remained the eternal Spirit.
The Son took on flesh.
Distinction without division.
Unity without confusion.
Why This Was Difficult for Many
For first-century Jews shaped entirely by Torah-centered monotheism, the claim that the eternal Word became flesh was radical.
They feared:
- Polytheism
- Blasphemy
- Fragmenting divine unity
But the New Testament never teaches three gods.
It teaches one divine essence expressed in three distinct Persons.
Even at Jesus’ baptism, we see this clarity:
The Son in the water.
The Spirit descending like a dove.
The Father speaking from heaven.
Matthew 3:16–17
Not one Person playing roles.
Three distinct Persons acting simultaneously.
Yet still one God.
The Son Veiled in Flesh
The incarnation did not subtract deity.
It added humanity.
Paul writes:
“Who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant…”
Philippians 2:6–7
The Son did not cease being God.
He veiled His glory.
He humbled Himself.
He submitted to the Father.
Divine equality.
Voluntary humility.
Not inferiority in nature.
Submission in role.
The flesh did not remove His power.
It concealed His glory.
The Godhead Clarified
The New Testament consistently reveals unity and distinction.
Paul writes:
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 2:9
Not partial divinity.
Not symbolic divinity.
Fullness.
And yet Jesus prays to the Father.
Obeys the Father.
Returns to the Father.
This is relational distinction within divine unity.
One God, Three Persons
The Father is not the Son.
The Son is not the Spirit.
The Spirit is not the Father.
Yet each is fully God.
The unity is in essence.
The distinction is in personhood.
The harmony is eternal.
The Old Testament protected the oneness of God.
The New Testament revealed the internal communion of God.
The Shema remains true.
God is one.
But that oneness is not solitary.
It is relational.
Why This Matters Theologically
If Jesus is not fully God:
Redemption collapses.
If He is not distinct from the Father:
Prayer collapses.
If the Spirit is not divine:
Sanctification collapses.
The beauty of the Gospel is this:
The Father sent.
The Son accomplished.
The Spirit applies.
One will.
One essence.
Three Persons.
Not confusion.
Not contradiction.
Revelation.
Final Reflection
The confession “God is one” was never wrong.
It was incomplete without Christ.
The New Testament does not dismantle monotheism.
It unveils it.
The Word who was with God and was God entered time.
The Father remained eternal Spirit.
The Son took on flesh.
The Spirit proceeds and empowers.
This is not three gods.
This is one God in eternal communion.
And the incarnation was not a disruption of divine unity.
It was the unveiling of divine love.